Missouri gaming regulators have signed off on the proposed location of a new downtown St. Louis casino, ruling that the site also expected to feature a hotel is close enough to the Mississippi River to pass constitutional muster.

A flurry of hotel construction in downtown St. Louis has added 1,600 new rooms since 2001 for a total of 7,140. In the same period, average occupancy rates have stalled near 60%. Those figures don't amount to particularly good news for the hotel industry, but it does mean that visitors rarely have trouble finding a place to stay that meets their needs and budget. In St. Louis, it's relatively easy to find a room with a breathtaking view or a top-tier facility on par with a New York luxury hotel.